H-E-B acquires five Albertsons locations in Austin area

AUSTIN H-E-B has announced that it reached a definitive agreement with Albertsons to acquire five Albertsons locations in the Austin-Round Rock area. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The move bolsters H-E-B’s presence in the Austin-Round Rock area to more than 45 stores. Until early November, Albertsons will continue to operate its area stores as the company winds down its local presence.

By early November, H-E-B will take possession of the stores and will begin remodeling three of them in preparation for the reopening as H-E-B stores beginning in early December. The store in the West Lake Hills area will reopen as an H-E-B in February.

As the Albertsons pharmacies close down their service, the company will transfer customer prescriptions to nearby H-E-B Pharmacies. Until that time, customers can continue to use their current Albertsons pharmacy.

Since the nearest H-E-B to West Lake Hills is more than five miles away, customers of this store will be able to get their prescriptions filled, along with OTC products, at a temporary pharmacy trailer that will be set up in the parking lot. The H-E-B Pharmacy trailer will be operational in mid-October. Until that time, customers can still use the Albertsons pharmacy in West Lake Hills.

“We want to make sure that pharmacy service will remain convenient for customers during the transition,” said Jeff Thomas, H-E-B senior vice president and general manager of the Central Texas region. “We take very seriously the need to get access both to medication and a knowledgeable pharmacist. We will do everything we need to in order to make pharmacy services available with minimal interruptions.”